By the Fire
By the fire’s flickering light, Illiv and Evaerus almost resembled two grim armored children, lying flat on their bellies, each bearing a sheaf of papers in hand and a pleased smile on their face. Botard was exactly the sort of man that Illiv had hoped for. He kept his records with the same meticulous certainty as the ticking of a clock. Every piece of information he had attained regarding history, magic, or mythos had been copied down by a Vein for Illiv and Evaerus to review and evaluate. The exact number of pledged fighting men, of spies, and of profits or losses in a given transaction were all displayed, in code, at Illiv’s fingertips. He and Evaerus had received the massive stack of letters the previous day and had left the Gildorian military post immediately to travel, make camp, and read peacefully. Warden’s Gate was not far away, and all was going well. Zeeno and Sapientia continued to travel as their companions, though Evaerus retained his suspicions of the elf. No further hostile attempts had been made towards either Illiv or Evaerus, and so Illiv wrote the attempted poisoner off as a creature of circumstance. Evaerus however was convinced that any man attempting a killing in such a well thought manner had to be a part of an organization, and so kept a constant vigil. Now, as the fire burned low, Zeeno slept and the elf watched as Illiv and Evaerus silently read, occasionally passing papers to one another. “A letter from Nex Belaine, the man who champions the supposed incarnation?” Evaerus held a wrinkled piece of parchment in his hand, and sitting across the fire, Illiv did not react. “Not interested.” The words were worn smooth and monotone from routine. However, no sooner than the words had left his mouth, Sapientia burst out “Yes! Read it!” Illiv looked up from his own stack of papers. “If her divinity is as she claims then fate will lead us together.” The elf scowled “And what if fate is leading you together right now? Here, I’m fate.” She leaned over to Evaerus and swiftly snatched the paper from his hands. He gave a disapproving grunt and continued to peruse the other correspondences. “Ahem.” She cleared her throat loudly. Illiv felt the fire bite his skin as he leaned in closer to listen. Over the past few months he had debated frequently and fiercely with the elf, and had come to respect her opinions and her character. She had even agreed to join the Vix, with some conditions attached, and he treasured her different perspectives. “Addressed to ‘High Priest’ Illiv Cell of the Vix Agarra.” Evaerus gave a short chuckle “Dear Illiv, you may have heard the various rumors surrounding myself, Nex Belaine, and Lydia, my friend. I would like to assure you that only the worst of them are true, and that my Lady and I have heard many rumors ourselves of you and your organization. I have sent my correspondences to Arkrest, in hopes that they reach your mysterious ears. I am certain that you have heard word of the great political turmoil now occurring in Gildor, and perhaps know something of the involvement of both myself and Lydia. It is in her name, the name of the mortal vessel of the Goddess Unquala that I would like to urge you to meet and discuss your own possible involvement. We also urge you to meet Lydia for yourself, that you might better lend your belief to her and our cause.” Illiv’s eyes narrowed to slits. The faint glow of countless machinations was just barely visible beneath his brow, beneath the cracked mask of paint. “As I expected. Invoking the name of the gods in a grasp for power. No reason to trust them. Perhaps we could send a representative. Evaerus?” Before the large man could reply, Sapientia cleared her throat. “There’s more you know. You should hear it all, this is actually pretty interesting.” She added as an afterthought “Impatient bastard.” and shot him a glance. He smiled. “Go on?” “Lastly, we have reliable sources that tell us that you intend to make for Rhivic, for whatever mad reason you wish. I would like to inform you that my dear friend Lydia apparently suffers your same madness and shares the same death wish, and that we would also like to discuss the possibility of traveling together for the sake of safety and, I imagine, a shared goal. Please address any return mail to be given to Lydia, as I myself cannot read and have had a scribe write these words for me. Yours truly, Nex Belain.” Sapientia looked up. “And that’s all.” Evaerus had folded his arms across his chest and leaned back in his familiar thinking position. “An odd coincidence” He said. “Quite.” Illiv replied. “The same destination?” “Exactly.” “And to meet with them is almost on the way…” “Especially given that Warden’s Gate will likely be barred to us.” “Exactly.” Sapientia watched quietly as she often did the odd exchanges between Illiv and Evaerus. It was almost as though they lived inside each other’s minds, and they frequently finished each other’s thoughts. She had noticed that Evaerus was certainly much more grounded than Illiv, and that Illiv was in many ways more morally unconventional than Evaerus, but aside from those observations she deemed the two men to be very much “cut from the same cloth.” “Then we’ll meet with them. Perhaps only briefly. Sapientia? Opinions?” “Yes! Absolutely. I don’t understand how there’s even a question when it comes to actually possibly meeting your own goddess in the flesh.” “Seems like a front to gain support for a conflict that likely benefits her in some, likely financial, way.” Evaerus groaned and sat up, leaning back on a log near Sapientia. He glanced up at her, “There are many legends about the gods, and it’s not uncommon for a warlord or thief to capitalize on that. Which is why…” he pointed meaningfully towards the letters, “Blasphemy is often a hanging offense.” The elf looked to the sky “I think it is worth keeping an open mind. My elders spoke as though…something was happening.” She scowled at the stars. “I don’t know what…they just sounded…sometimes like the knew something, or were preparing for something. Maybe that was just their pride, but it seemed genuine.” “Well…” Illiv let the thought trail off so long that Evaerus began to suspect he had gone into one of his spells of silence. “I think it would be most logical to agree to meet with them, and then to agree to help them.” Evaerus began to protest, but Illiv continued. “If they are indeed blasphemers, then we would be doing the gods a service by killing them.” Evaerus nodded “Keep your enemies close.” “Exactly. Though a part of me believes Sapientia to be correct, I have no doubt I’d live a shorter life lacking your caution and cynicism.” Evaerus ripped at a piece of jerky as he spoke “Well religion is a tricky thing.” Illiv pursed his lips as he returned to his papers. “Yes. It is dangerous.” That night, he did not pass into sleep pondering the possibilities of meeting a goddess in the flesh as Sapientia did. He worried, a rare thing. His mind ran over a single word again and again, until it had carved a trench in his thoughts into which he numbly fell. It was a word he read in a correspondence from Botard adressing the situation of an alliance with the pirate lord, Vovk, and the capture of Shamus Stormcrow. He quickly sent Zeeno, who he greatly trusted, to investigate. ''Sacrifice. '' Category:Character lore